Abyssal Sovereignty

“Not bad. It fits quite well.”

After her bath, the girl put on the garment given to her by Misako—an elegant white sleeveless dress. Her freshly washed hair, now smooth and lustrous, and her slightly reddened, hydrated skin from the hot springs were enveloped by the pristine white fabric.

However, the right sleeve of the dress remained conspicuously empty.

“Um… Lady Miko, if that’s the case, why not choose a dress with sleeves?”

To cover her missing arm, a sleeved dress would have been a simple solution.

“Hmm… Even if she had chosen one, she probably wouldn’t wear it. After all, it would interfere with combat. A dress is already the limit of what she can tolerate.”

Besides magic, the girl’s combat style included direct physical attacks. Long sleeves would hinder her performance. In fact, she didn’t even want to wear a dress, but there were no shorts that fit her well. Among those at the shrine, only Haru wore shorts, and her figure was significantly more ample.

“…What was that last part supposed to mean?”

“Are you referring to when we first met?”

At Misako’s question, the girl nodded slightly. During her bath, she had been pondering ways to increase her strength and recalled Misako’s earlier words: “a person’s inner strength is more important than their physical strength.”

Yet, she couldn’t quite grasp the meaning.

“Combine that with what Shirone just said and think about it. If you don’t figure it out yourself, it won’t be meaningful. Let’s go.”

“Ah! We’ll take our leave now.”

Shirone gave a slight bow to the girl before following Misako out.

…

‘Understand oneself…’

As she walked, the girl contemplated this phrase. If there was a way to understand her situation, it would be through…

“‘Information’.”

This was a spell she had recently recalled. It seemed to connect to a type of grand magic that could reveal personal information.

As she cast the spell, a translucent blue panel appeared before her.

…

【Name: [Missing]】
【Race: Human (?)】
【Occupation: None】
【Mana: 8800】
【Strength: 8400】
【Energy: 8900】
【Abilities: Mastery of All Things, Pseudo Dragon Scales, Suppression Instinct, Death Prognosis, Origin Rebirth, …】
【Titles: Saintess (Former), Catastrophe Slayer】

…

“…Former Saintess…”

She vaguely remembered that her target for revenge was a religious group. Being a Saintess meant that…

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, an intense headache struck her—not physical pain but something deeper. The agony made her kneel involuntarily.

The scene shifted abruptly, plunging her surroundings into darkness. She looked at her left hand, and despite the lack of light, she could still see it, suggesting she was not in the physical world.

She scanned her surroundings and saw a girl almost identical to herself sitting not far away, with her back turned.

【…How dare you come back.】

“…What do you mean?”

【Hmph! I don’t want to talk to you!】

The girl seated there buried her face in her lap, sulking like an upset child.

“…Do you know me?”

【More than just knowing you, I am a part of you…】

The girl blushed as she recalled the earlier refusal to speak.

【…Ugh… Fine!】

The seated girl sprang up and grabbed the collar of the girl’s dress.

【I am your dark side, a collection of your negative emotions, your inner demon!…Or at least, I should be.】

The inner demon’s face fell, and she released the collar, crouching down.

【But I can’t even surpass this… I might as well disappear.】

‘…Inner demon?’

At this moment, the girl remembered that every sentient being had a dark side known as the inner demon. These entities often sought to consume the host or take over their body.

Yet, her inner demon seemed more like a pitiable young girl, even possessing more emotion than herself.

“…Can you tell me about the past?”

【No.】

The inner demon flatly refused the question.

【After what you did to me, do you expect me to agree to that?】

“…What did I do?”

【It’s just…uh…】

The inner demon’s face turned red again.

She couldn’t very well admit she was scared by the grudge in the host’s body, could she? That would be too embarrassing for a demon!

“…I’m sorry.”

【…Huh?】

The sudden apology left the inner demon stunned.

“…It sounds like I did something wrong. Since you are a part of me, it’s only right that I apologize to myself.”

【…Ugh… Hmph!】

The inner demon turned her head away with a huff.

【…You won.】

“…?”

Before the girl could ask further, the space around them started to crack.

“Ugh…”

The girl opened her eyes again, finding herself back in the real world.

‘What just happened?’

Suddenly, she felt her power increase.

‘Why… Could it be because of that inner demon…?’

“Congratulations, you did it.”

The girl turned to see who had spoken.

“Throughout, the inner demon has been a dangerous presence, but overcoming it frees you from the so-called ‘bottleneck’ of strength. However, this method of overcoming it is quite unique.”

Misako emerged from the shadows, explaining the situation.

“Your inner demon hasn’t disappeared but rather become a sort of inner personality. An inner personality with richer emotions than the outer one… Quite interesting.”

As a fox who enjoyed observing such things, Misako was very intrigued by her situation. After all, the girl’s emotions were essentially non-existent now, making it rather unamusing to tease her.

Though currently she appeared harmless due to a stalled progress, if she heard about her targets for revenge, she would likely become unhinged.

Conversely, her inner demon had a ‘tsundere’ vibe, which would surely be entertaining to provoke.

Despite the lack of more memories, the reason was simply that her method of overcoming challenges was too unique.

‘Should I call upon those monsters who once pledged allegiance to her… No, that won’t do.’

This matter had to be approached slowly and with her own effort, without rushing.

“Well… Now you should be able to move on to the next stage.”

Misako dismissed her previous thoughts and tossed a jade token to the girl.

“This is a pass for the training grounds. With this, you can enter and train there. Of course, it’s not just an ordinary field or simple equipment. You’ll understand once you get there.”

“Then, I’ll take my leave. The real show is about to start, and I need to get back to watch the live broadcast.”

With that, Misako disappeared from the girl’s sight.